Wireless power transmitters with wide input voltage range and methods of their operation

ABSTRACT

The embodiments described herein provide a power transmitter for wireless charging of an electronic device and methods of its operation. The power transmitter uses an inverter configured to generate a square wave from a potentially wide ranging DC input voltage. The inverter is configured to generate the square wave with a duty cycle that results in a desired equivalent voltage output, effectively independent of the DC input voltage that is provided. Thus, by generating a square wave with a selectable duty cycle the inverter provides the ability to facilitate wireless power transfer with a wide range of DC input voltages. Furthermore, in some embodiments the power transmitter may provide improved power transfer efficiency using a quasi-resonant phase shift control strategy with adjustable dead time and a matching network that is dynamically selectable to more effectively couple with the transmitter coil combination being used to transmit power to the electronic device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of co-pending, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/082,774, filed on Nov. 18, 2013, and whichclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to China Patent Application No.201310526862.3, filed Sep. 4, 2013, which is incorporated herein in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein relate generally toelectronic devices, and more particularly to wireless power charging forelectronic devices.

BACKGROUND

Many modern electronic devices are mobile devices that use batteriesand/or capacitors as power supplies. In many such devices there is aneed to frequently recharge the power supplies. To facilitate ease ofrecharging such devices wireless recharging is increasingly beingemployed. However, there remain significant limitations in many wirelesscharging systems. For example, many wireless charging systems lack theflexibility to work with multiple types of power sources. For example,such wireless power systems may be unable to function with power sourceshaving significantly varying input voltage.

Furthermore, many such wireless charging systems continue to suffer fromexcessively inefficient power transfer. In such systems the amount ofpower consumed to facilitate charging of the mobile device will beexcessive, and furthermore may not meet present and future regulatoryrequirements.

These and other limitations continue to impede the wider adoption ofwireless power charging of mobile devices. Thus, there is a continuingneed for improved wireless power transfer devices and techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the subject matter may be derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconjunction with the following figures, wherein like reference numbersrefer to similar elements throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 is a simplified system block diagram of a power transmitter inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a detailed functional block diagram of a power transmitter inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an H-bridge inverter in accordance withan example embodiment;

FIG. 4 are graphical diagrams of square wave signals having differentduty cycles and magnitudes in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of a transistor switching techniquein accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a primary coil array in accordance with anexample embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a matching network in accordance with anexample embodiment;

FIGS. 8-9 are method diagrams illustrating methods for wireless powertransfer in accordance with an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely illustrative in nature andis not intended to limit the embodiments of the subject matter or theapplication and uses of such embodiments. As used herein, the word“exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.”Any implementation described herein as exemplary is not necessarily tobe construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations.Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed orimplied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background,or the following detailed description.

The embodiments described herein can provide wireless power chargingwith improved flexibility. For example, the embodiments described hereincan provide wireless power charging that operates with a relatively widerange of input voltages. As other examples, the embodiments describedherein can provide improved wireless power transfer efficiency.

In one embodiment a power transmitter for wireless charging of anelectronic device is provided. In general, the power transmitter uses aninverter configured to generate an alternating current (AC) square wavefrom a potentially wide ranging direct current (DC) input voltage. Inone embodiment the inverter is configured to generate the AC square wavewith a duty cycle that results in a desired equivalent voltage output,effectively independent of the DC input voltage that is provided. Forexample, generating the AC square wave by utilizing a phase shiftingtechnique which the control signals between a first complementary pairhalf bridge and a second complementary pair half bridge of an H-bridgeinverter. Thus, by generating an AC square wave with a selectable dutycycle the inverter provides the ability to facilitate wireless powertransfer within a wide range of DC input voltages, and thus may provideimproved flexibility for wireless power transfer to electronic devices.

Furthermore, in some embodiments the power transmitter may provideimproved power transfer efficiency using a matching network that isdynamically selectable to more effectively couple with the transmittercoil combination being used to transmit power to the electronic device.Furthermore, in some embodiments the fundamental frequency of the powertransfer signal is controllable to provide potentially improved powertransfer efficiency.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a power transmitter 100 for wireless charging ofan electronic device is illustrated schematically. The power transmitter100 includes an input 101, an inverter 102, a matching network 104 and aprimary coil array 106. The input 101 is configured to receive avariable DC input voltage, and using the variable DC input voltage thepower transmitter 100 is configured to wirelessly transmit power to areceiver coil 108 of a nearby electronic device. In general, theinverter 102 is configured to receive a potentially wide range variableDC input voltage and generate an AC square-wave signal having a dutycycle selected to provide a predetermined equivalent voltage appropriatefor power transfer. The AC square-wave signal is provided to thematching network 104. The matching network 104 is configured to generatea charging signal from the AC square-wave signal and provide thecharging signal to the primary coil array 106. The primary coil array106 includes a plurality of selectable primary coils. These primarycoils are individually selectable such that selected coil combinationsof one or more primary coils can be used to transmit a power transfersignal to a receiver coil 108 of the electronic device.

During operation the inverter 102 generates the AC square-wave signalwith a duty cycle that results in a desired equivalent voltage outputindependent of the DC input voltage. Thus, by generating an ACsquare-wave signal with a selectable duty cycle the inverter 102 mayfacilitate operation within a relatively wide range of possible DC inputvoltages. For example, the inverter 102 can be configured to provide thedesired equivalent voltage output with a DC input voltage that can varybetween about 5 and about 20 volts. In other embodiments the DC inputvoltage can vary between about 5 and about 15 volts. Such an embodimentwould provide improved flexibility for wireless power transfer using avariety of different power sources. For example, such an embodiment canprovide the flexibility to use both Universal Serial Bus (USB) basedpower sources that are at approximately 5 volts, and automotive powersources that are commonly between 9 and 14 volts. In still otherembodiments, the DC input voltage may vary across a voltage range havinga higher lower boundary and/or a higher upper boundary.

In one embodiment the desired equivalent voltage generated by theinverter 102 is based on information from the electronic device. Forexample, the electronic device can specify the voltage of the powersignal transmitted to the receiver coil 108 of the electronic device. Aswill be described in greater detail below in some embodiments theelectronic device can specify such information by transmitting a signalfrom the receiver coil 108 of the device to the primary coil array 106of the power transmitter 100.

In one embodiment the inverter 102 comprises a single stage inverter. Asingle stage inverter can provide efficient power transfer by minimizingpower loss. In one specific embodiment the inverter 102 utilizes powermetal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETS), but othertypes of transistors could also be used. In such an embodiment theinverter 102 can be configured to adjust dead time of the power MOSFETSbased on the magnitude of the DC input voltage and loading to facilitatelow switching loss.

In one specific embodiment the inverter 102 uses a shifted phasetopology to generate the AC square-wave signal with the duty cycleselected. Such an embodiment will be discussed below with reference toFIG. 5. For example, the inverter 102 can utilize a phase-shiftedH-bridge topology.

In one embodiment the inverter 102 is configured to generate the ACsquare-wave signal at a plurality of different frequencies. In such anembodiment the power transmitter 100 is further configured to determinewhich of the plurality of different frequencies results in efficientpower transfer to the electronic device based on feedback received fromthe electronic device.

As described above the matching network 104 is configured to generate acharging signal from the AC square-wave signal and provide the chargingsignal to the primary coil array 106. In a typical embodiment thematching network 104 is implemented such that the generated chargingsignal is a sinusoidal-type signal having a fundamental frequency of ACsquare-wave signal. Furthermore in some embodiments the matching network104 provides improved power transfer efficiency by using selectiveswitching to provide more effective coupling with the primary coilcombination used in the primary coil array 106. In one embodiment thisis accomplished by including a plurality of switched capacitors and aninductor in the matching network 104. Each of the plurality of switchedcapacitors can be selectively switched based upon which of the pluralityof selectable primary coils are selected. In one embodiment each ofthese switched capacitors is configured to make the resonant frequencyof the power transmitter near the fundamental frequency of the chargingsignal when the corresponding primary coil combination is active.

As described above, the primary coil array 106 includes a plurality ofselectable primary coils, in an embodiment. These primary coils can beimplemented with any combination of wire-wound coils, printed circuitboard (PCB) coils, or hybrid/wire-wound coils. These primary coils areindividually selectable such that a coil combination of one or moreprimary coils in the array 106 can be selected and used to transmit apower transfer signal to a receiver coil 108. In one specific embodimenteach of the plurality of selectable primary coils are selectivelyactivated to utilize a coil combination that is most effective to couplewith the receiver coil 108 of the electronic device. As will bedescribed in greater detail below, the most effective coil combinationcan be selected based on a feedback signal received from the electronicdevice, where the feedback signal provides an indication of powertransfer efficiency. In an alternate embodiment, the primary coil array106 may include only a single coil, rather than multiple coils.

The power transmitter 100 can be implemented with a variety of otherelements. For example, the power transmitter 100 can be furtherimplemented with an input voltage detector configured to determine amagnitude of the DC input voltage. In such an embodiment the inverter102 can be configured to select the output duty cycle by using phaseshift technique to provide the predetermined equivalent voltage based onthe magnitude determined by the input voltage detector.

As another example, the power transmitter 100 can be further implementedwith a sensing circuit coupled to the plurality of selectable primarycoils in the primary coil array 106. In such an embodiment the sensingcircuit can be configured to sense signals received on at least one ofthe plurality of selectable primary coils to facilitate communicationtransmitted from the electronic device back to the primary coils. Thecommunication messages include, but are not limited to, the informationof power transfer efficiency and energy requested by the electronicdevice.

Finally, in some embodiments the power transmitter 100 can furtherinclude a microcontroller. In such an embodiment the microcontroller canbe configured to control operation of the inverter 102, the matchingnetwork 104 and/or the plurality of selectable primary coils 106.Furthermore the microcontroller can be used to control other elements,such the input voltage detector and sensing circuit described above.

In one specific embodiment the microcontroller is coupled to an inputvoltage detector, a sensing circuit, the inverter 102, the matchingnetwork 104, and the coil array 106 and may be configured to control theinverter 102 to generate the AC square-wave signal with a duty cycleselected based on the determined magnitude of the DC input voltage suchthat the AC square-wave signal provides a predetermined equivalentvoltage. Furthermore, the microcontroller may be configured to controlthe plurality of selectable coils in the coil array 106 to selectivelyactivate a coil combination effective to couple with the receiver coil108 on the electronic device. Furthermore, the microcontroller may beconfigured to selectively couple the plurality of switched capacitors inthe matching network 104 based on the activated coil combination. Themicrocontroller also may be configured to receive communication from thereceiver coil 108 on the electronic device based on a signal received onat least one of the plurality of selectable primary coils. Finally, themicrocontroller may be configured to control the power transferred fromtransmitter to the receiver coil 108 of the electronic device based onthe communication message(s) received by microcontroller.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an exemplary embodiment of a power transmitter200 for wireless charging of an electronic device is illustratedschematically. The power transmitter 200 includes a differential input201, an inverter 202, a matching network 204, a primary coil array 206,a voltage detector 208, an inverter driver 210, a sensing circuit 212,coil switches 214, and a controller 216. In general, the powertransmitter 200 is configured to receive a variable DC input voltage atthe differential input 201 and wirelessly transmit power to a receivercoil of a nearby electronic device. In general, the inverter 202 isconfigured to receive a potentially wide range variable DC input voltageand generate an AC square-wave signal having a duty cycle selected toprovide a predetermined equivalent voltage. The matching network 204 isconfigured to generate a charging signal from the AC square-wave signaland provide the charging signal to the primary coil array 206. In thisillustrated embodiment the AC square wave and charging signal are passedas differential signals. The primary coil array 206 includes a pluralityof selectable primary coils that are individually selectable such that aselected coil combination of one or more primary coils can be used totransmit a power transfer signal to a receiver coil of the electronicdevice.

The voltage detector 208 is configured to determine the magnitude of thevariable DC input voltage and provide a signal indicating that magnitudeto the controller 216. Based on the provided magnitude, the controller216 controls the inverter driver 210 to control the operation of theinverter 202. Specifically, the controller 216 uses the magnitude and asensed primary coil signal from sensing circuit 212 in determining aduty cycle for the AC square-wave signal by utilizing the phase shifttechnique. Based on the determined duty cycle, the controller 216controls the inverter 202 (via inverter driver 210) to provide a desiredequivalent voltage in the AC square-wave signal generated by theinverter 202. The controller 216 uses the inverter driver 210 to controlthe inverter 202 to generate this AC square-wave signal.

The coil switches 214 are coupled to the controller 216 and the primarycoil array 206. The controller 216 selectively activates the coilswitches 214 to control which primary coils in the array 206 areactivated for use in transmitting power to the electronic device. Thesecoil switches 214 can be activated to enable a coil combination of oneor more primary coils in the array 206. Typically the coil combinationused would correspond to those coils in the array 206 that have the bestcoupling with the corresponding receiver coil on the electronic device,and thus facilitate efficient power transfer to the electronic device.In an alternate embodiment, the primary coil array 206 may include onlya single coil, rather than multiple coils, and the coil switches 214 maybe excluded from the system.

The sensing circuit 212 is coupled to the plurality of selectableprimary coils in the primary coil array 206. The sensing circuit 212 isconfigured to sense voltage/current levels on the on the primary coilarray 206. This can be used to sense the current power transfer amountand signals transmitted from the electronic device and received by theprimary coil array 206. Thus, the primary coil array 206 can be used toboth transmit power to an electronic device for recharging, and can alsobe used to receive communications from the electronic device.

In one embodiment the communication from the electronic device may beimplemented using a technique, referred to as load modulation, thatincludes changing the load of the receiver side for defined periodsaccording to a specific standard protocol, such as a protocol defined ina Wireless Power Consortium wireless power transfer specification. Inthis implementation the load changes result in a modulation of thecurrent through and/or voltage across the primary coil(s), whichmodulation can be sensed by the sensing circuit 212 and conveyed to thecontroller 216. The controller 216 can use the different timing periodsbetween load changes to extract the communication message. In this casethe communication message may be conveyed using a low frequency signal,as compared with the frequency of the power transfer signal.

Such a transmission of information to the power transmitter 200 can beutilized for a variety of purposes. For example, the electronic devicecan transmit information to the power transmitter 200, which indicatesthe amount of power that is being received by the electronic device.Such information can be used by the controller 216 to select the mostefficient parameters for power transmission. As one example, suchinformation can be used to identify a suitable receiver coil to receivethe power. As another example, the information can be used to determinewhich of the plurality of selectable primary coils in the array 206should be used to transmit power to the electronic device with maximumefficiency. As other examples, the information can be used to determinethe fundamental frequency of the charging signal that results in thehighest efficiency power transfer. As other examples, the informationcan be used to transmit a power amount required by receiver. As otherexamples, the information can be used to determine how long the powertransfer will continue.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of an inverter 302 is illustrated.Inverter 302 is exemplary of the type of inverter that can be used inthe various embodiments described herein, including in the examplesillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 (e.g., inverters 102, 202).

In general, the inverter 302 includes an input 304, an output 306, andfour transistors P1, P2, P3 and P4. In the illustrated embodiment thesetransistors are implemented with power MOSFETS and are arranged in anH-bridge topology. Specifically, transistors P1 and P3 are arranged as afirst complementary pair and transistors P2 and P4 are arranged as asecond complementary pair. When transistors P1 and P4 are on (andtransistors P2 and P3 are off), the output is driven positive, and whentransistors P2 and P3 are on (and transistors P1 and P4 are off), theoutput is driven negative. Finally, when transistors P1 and P2 are on(and transistors P3 and P4 are off), or transistors P3 and P4 are on(and transistors P1 and P2 are off), the output is zero. Thus, byproviding an appropriate DC input at input 304, and appropriatelycontrolling the transistors P1, P2, P3 and P4 the inverter 302 andoutputs an AC square-wave signal at output 306. Furthermore, bycontrolling the timing of the transistor activation (e.g., by controller216 and inverter driver 210, FIG. 2) the duty cycle of the ACsquare-wave signal can be controlled.

Turning now to FIG. 4, two graphical representations of AC square-wavesignals are illustrated. These AC square-wave signals are exemplary ofthe type of AC square-wave signals that can be generated by the inverter302. The AC square-wave signals have a controllable duty cycle thatresults in a desired equivalent voltage output, effectively independentof the DC input voltage that is provided. The duty cycle of the ACsquare-wave signal is the ratio of the duration of the signal at activestate(s) to the total period of a signal. In the examples of FIG. 4,these active states comprise both the high (+) and low (−) portions ofthe waveforms. Thus, graph 402 illustrates an example where the dutycycle of the AC square-wave signal is relatively high (i.e., a highratio), while graph 404 illustrates an example where, by comparison, theduty cycle of the AC square-wave signal is relatively low (i.e., a lowratio). Graph 402 thus illustrates an example of the type of ACsquare-wave signal that would be generated when the DC input voltage wasrelatively low, while graph 404 illustrates an example of the type of ACsquare-wave signal that would be generated where the DC input voltagewas relatively high. In both examples the difference in duty cycle canbe used to generate the same desired equivalent voltage output in the ACsquare-wave signal, even though the DC input voltage used to generatethose signals was different. Thus, controlling the duty cycles of the ACsquare-wave allows different DC input voltages to be used whileproviding the needed equivalent voltage at the output nodes for wirelesscharging.

Again, such AC square-wave signals as those illustrated in graphs 402and 404 can be generated by switching transistors P1 and P4 on for thepositive portions of the waveform (while switching transistors P2 and P3off), switching transistors P2 and P3 on for the negative portions ofthe waveform (while switching P1 and P4 off), and switching eithertransistors P1 and P2 or transistors P3 and P4 on (and correspondinglyswitching transistors P3 and P4 or transistors P1 and P2 off) for theneutral portions of the waveform.

A variety of different techniques can be used to reduce powerconsumption in the inverter 302. In one embodiment the inverter 302 isconfigured to adjust the dead time of transistors to facilitate lowswitching loss. Specifically, the controller can operate the transistorsin the inverter 302 to adjust the dead time of the transistors to assurequasi-resonant soft switching for low switching losses according todifferent input voltages and loads. Furthermore, the inverter 302 can beoperated to use shifted phase topology. In general, a shifted phasetopology is an implementation of 50% duty cycle control signal at eachtransistor pair of a full-bridge inverter by phase shifting theswitching of one transistor pair (half-bridge) control signal withrespect to the other. Such a phase shifted topology can facilitateconstant frequency pulse-width modulation in conjunction with resonantzero-voltage switching to provide high efficiency at high frequencies.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a graphical representation 500 of a transistorswitching technique and a graphical representation 504 of the resultingAC square-wave signals generated using an embodiment of a powertransmitter (e.g., power transmitter 200, FIG. 2) are illustrated. Thisillustrated technique switches the transistors (e.g., of inverter 102,202, 302, FIGS. 1-3) to generate a desired AC square-wave signal whilepotentially reducing power consumption through use of controlled “deadtime” in each transistor pair (e.g., transistor pairs P1/P3 and P2/P4,FIG. 3). In general, the “dead time” of a transistor pair is the timeinterval between one transistor turning off and its complementtransistor being turned on. Thus, instead of switching complementarypairs of transistors simultaneously, a slight difference or “dead time”between the two transistors' switching times is used to result in softswitching that can reduce power consumption in the inverter (e.g.,inverter 302, FIG. 3). In FIG. 5 the dead times for the transistor pairsP1/P3 and P2/P4 are illustrated with cross-hatched regions 502.Specifically, the cross-hatched regions 502 show dead times where onetransistor in a transistor is pair is turned off and before thecomplement transistor in the transistor pair is off. As can be seen inthe example of FIG. 5, the transistor pair P1 and P3 do not switchsimultaneously due to the shift in switching times illustrated bycross-hatched regions 502. Likewise, the transistor pair P2 and P4 donot switch simultaneously due to the shift in switching timesillustrated by cross-hatched regions 502. Again, the end result ofgenerating proper dead times between switching can be a reduction inpower consumption and increased overall efficiency. The graphicalrepresentation 504 illustrates the resulting real output AC square wavevoltage from which dead time effect was taken in account.

Turning now to FIG. 6, an exemplary primary coil array 600 (e.g.,primary coil array 106, 206, FIGS. 1, 2) is illustrated schematically.As described above, the primary coil array 600 includes a plurality ofselectable primary coils 604. These primary coils 604 can be implementedwith any mix of wire-wound coils, PCB coils, or hybrid/wire-wound coils.Switches 602 allow any combination of primary coils 604 to be selectedinto the circuit. This allows one or more primary coils 604 to beenabled and used to transmit a power transfer signal to a receiver coil(e.g., receiver coil 108, FIG. 1). In one specific embodiment each ofthe plurality of selectable primary coils 604 are selectively activatedusing switches 602 to enable a coil combination that is most effectiveto couple with a receiver coil. As will be described in greater detailbelow, the most effective coil combination can be enabled based on afeedback signal received from the electronic device, where the feedbacksignal provides an indication of power transfer efficiency.

Turning now to FIG. 7, an exemplary matching network 700 (e.g., matchingnetwork 104, 204, FIGS. 1, 2) is illustrated schematically. The matchingnetwork 700 includes an inductor 702, a plurality of switches 704, aplurality of switched capacitors 706 and an un-switched capacitor 708.In general, the action of the matching network 700 is to filter out highfrequency harmonics from the AC square-wave and keep the fundamentalfrequency in form of a sinusoidal wave. Specifically, the matchingnetwork 700 is configured to generate a sinusoidal-wave charging signalfrom an AC square-wave signal and provide a substantially sinusoidalcharging signal to the primary coil array (e.g., primary coil array 106,206, FIGS. 1, 2). Furthermore in this embodiment the matching network700 additionally may improve power transfer efficiency by facilitatingselective switching of additional capacitors into the circuit.

As one example, if only one primary coil (e.g., coil 604) is determinedto be needed in the selected coil combination to transmit power to thereceiver coil then the un-switched capacitor 708 may be sufficient toprovide a resonant frequency of the overall circuit that closely matchesthe fundamental frequency of the power transfer signal and thusfacilitates efficient power transfer. However, if two primary coils(e.g., two of coils 604) are to be used in the coil combination (e.g.,as could occur if the receiver coil is spatially placed between twoprimary coils) then an additional capacitor 706 can be switched into thecircuit to again provide the proper resonant frequency and thusefficient power transfer. In the case of a third coil being used in thecoil combination a third capacitor 706 can likewise be switched into thecircuit to make the correct resonant frequency. Thus, in each case theswitched capacitors 706 may be selected to compensate for additionalprimary coils in the selected coil combination to make the resonantfrequency of the power transmitter near the fundamental frequency.

Turning now to FIG. 8, a method 800 of wirelessly transferring power toan electronic device is illustrated. In general, the method 800facilitates wireless power transfer using a wide range of DC inputvoltages, and thus may provide improved flexibility for wireless powertransfer to electronic devices. Furthermore, the method 800 mayfacilitate efficient wireless power transfer.

Step 802 may include determining an input voltage (e.g., by voltagedetector 208, FIG. 2). This determining of the input voltage can beperformed using any suitable technique or device. As described above, inthe various embodiments the input voltage can comprise a wide range ofDC input voltages, such as between about 5 and about 20 volts, or someother range. This may facilitate flexibility in using different sourcesto provide power for wireless power transfer. For example, the methodcan be used with Universal Serial Bus (USB) based power sources that areapproximately 5 volts, or automotive power sources that are commonlybetween 9 and 14 volts. As will be described in greater detail below,the determined input voltage will be used in generating an ACsquare-wave signal that has a predetermined equivalent voltage, and deadtime adjustment for quasi-resonance soft switching operation as well.

In some embodiments the determination of the input voltage may beperformed every time a power source is provided to the charger—forexample, every time a wireless charger is plugged into a new powersource. In other cases the input voltage may be continuously,periodically, or occasionally determined to allow for adjustments inresponse to dynamic changes in input voltage. For example, theembodiments can facilitate adjustment in response to an automotive powersystem being changing from being supplied by an alternator (typically at14 volts) to a battery (typically at 12 volts).

Step 804 includes determining proximate primary coil(s) (e.g., coils ofprimary coil array 106, 206, 600, FIGS. 1, 2, 6) to a receiver coil(e.g., receiver coil 108, FIG. 1) on the electronic device. In generalthis step determines when an electronic device has been placed close tothe primary coils for charging, and also determines which primary coilshave the best coupling to the receiver coil, and thus should be used forcharging. In one embodiment this step can be initiated by transmitting a“ping” signal from one or more primary coils and having the electronicdevice respond to a received “ping” signal with an appropriateacknowledgment signal. This acknowledgement signal can be transmitted bythe receiver coil and received back by the primary coil, and thendelivered to a controller (e.g., controller 216, FIG. 2) using a devicesuch as the sensing circuit 212 (FIG. 2) discussed above.

Specifically, when it has been determined that an electronic device tobe charged is nearby, step 804 determines which primary coils areproximate to the receiver coil and thus have good coupling with thereceiver coil. This determination allows those primary coils with thebest coupling to be activated and thus facilitates high power transferefficiency. In some cases more than one primary coil is sufficientlyclose and should be activated. This may occur when the receiver coil isbetween two or more primary coils. In other cases only one primary coilshould be activated. In either case a primary coil combination of one ormore primary coils should be selected to provide efficient transfer tothe receiver coil.

In one embodiment step 804 includes sequentially transmitting from eachprimary coil individually, transmitting from combinations of two primarycoils, and transmitting from combinations of three primary coils. Witheach transmitting the receiving electronic device can determine how muchpower is being transferred and communicate that information back to thewireless power transmitter. When all the combinations of primary coilshave been tried the wireless power transmitter can determine whichprimary coil combination resulted in the most efficient power transfer.Thus, each of the plurality of selectable primary coils may beselectively activated to determine which coil combination couples withthe receiver coil on the electronic device most effectively, and thatdetermination is based on a feedback signal received from the electronicdevice.

Step 806 includes configuring the matching network (e.g., matchingnetwork 104, 204, 700, FIGS. 1, 2, 7). In general the matching networkis utilized to generate a sinusoidal-type charging signal from an ACsquare-wave signal. The charging signal is then provided to the primarycoil array (e.g., primary coil array 106, 206, FIGS. 1, 2) fortransmitting to the electronic device. In step 806 the matching networkis configured to improve power transfer efficiency. Specifically, thematching network is configured to provide a resonant frequency of theoverall circuit that closely matches the fundamental frequency of thepower transfer signal and thus facilities efficient power transfer. Thiscan be done by configuring the matching network to compensate for theuse of additional primary coils in the utilized coil combination. Forexample, if two primary coils (e.g., two of coils 604, FIG. 6) are to beused instead of one then an additional capacitor (e.g., one of switchedcapacitors 706, FIG. 7) can be switched into the circuit to provide theproper resonant frequency and efficient power transfer. Likewise, in thecase of a third coil being used another additional capacitor canlikewise be used to produce a signal having the correct resonantfrequency. In each case the added capacitors are switched into thecircuit to configure the matching network to make the resonant frequencyof the power transmitter near the fundamental frequency of the chargingsignal.

Step 808 includes generating a power transfer signal. In generalgenerating the power transfer signal comprises inverting (e.g., byinverter 102, 202, 302, FIGS. 1-3) a DC input voltage to generate an ACsquare-wave signal, generating (e.g., by matching network 104, 204, 700,FIGS. 1, 2, 7) a sinusoidal-type charging signal from the AC squarewave-signal, and applying the charging signal to one or more primarycoils (e.g., of primary coil arrays 106, 206, 600, FIGS. 1, 2, 6) towirelessly transmit power to a receiver coil (e.g., receiver coil 108,FIG. 1). A detailed discussion of this step will be provided below withreference to FIG. 9.

Step 810 includes adjusting the fundamental frequency of the signal toincrease efficiency of the power transfer. In general this can beperformed by generating the AC square-wave signal at a plurality ofdifferent frequencies, measuring the resulting power transfer to theelectronic device, and determining which of those frequencies results inefficient power transfer. For example, in one embodiment an inverter(e.g., inverter 102, 202, 302, FIGS. 1-3) can be controlled to generatethe AC square-wave signals at 1 MHz increments over a predeterminedrange of frequencies. These result in charging signals and resultingpower transfer signals being generated at these different frequencies.The electronic device can receive these different power transfer signalsusing its receiver coil. By measuring the resulting power transfer atthe each frequency point the electronic device can use a load modulationmethod to send a feedback signal (indicating the power transferefficiency) from the receiver coil to the power transmitter primarycoils. As described above, such transmitting results in signals on theprimary coil that can be measured and used to extract the data. Fromthis extracted data the power transmitter can select the most efficientfrequency for power transfer.

Such a technique can be used to compensate for variations in the circuitthat affect the various resonant frequencies. Stated another way,stepping through the frequencies allows the precise resonant frequencythat results in efficient power transfer to be determined in a way thatcan compensate for the effects of the primary coil combination selectionand matching network configuration. Again, implementation of such atechnique may result in improved power transfer efficiency.

Turning now to FIG. 9, a method 900 for generating a power transfersignal is illustrated. The method 900 details the steps involved ingenerating a power transfer signal, such as for step 808 in FIG. 8. Suchsteps may be continuously, periodically, or occasionally performed aspower is transferred to a receiver coil (e.g., receiver coil 108,FIG. 1) of an electronic device.

Step 902 includes inverting an input voltage to generate a square-wavesignal. As described above, controllably inverting the input voltage togenerate a square-wave signal allows the duty cycle of the square-wavesignal to be selected to have a predetermined equivalent voltage. Thisallows a wide range of input voltages to be used while still providing adesired equivalent voltage for the square-wave signal.

As one example an H-bridge topology single stage inverter is used (e.g.,inverter 302, FIG. 3). Such an inverter allows for the duty cycle of anAC square-wave signal to be modulated by controlling the timing of thetransistor activation. Specifically, when the magnitude of the inputvoltage is relatively low the duty cycle of the square-wave signal canbe made relatively high to generate the desired equivalent voltage.Conversely, when the magnitude of the input voltage is relatively highthe duty cycle of the square-wave signal can be made relatively low togenerate the same desired equivalent voltage. Thus, a wide range ofinput voltages can be used to generate the needed equivalent voltageoutput for wireless charging.

Furthermore, such an inverter can provide reduced power consumption. Forexample, the inverter can provide reduced power consumption by adjustingthe dead time of transistors to facilitate low switching loss accordingto input voltage and loading.

Step 904 includes generating a sinusoidal-type charging signal from theAC square-wave signal. In general, by passing the AC square-wave signalthrough an appropriate matching network a sinusoidal-type chargingsignal can be generated. Furthermore, the matching network can beconfigured to improve power transfer efficiency by providing a mechanismto adjust the resonant frequency of the overall circuit such that itclosely matches the fundamental frequency of the charging signal. Again,this can be done by configuring the matching network to compensate forthe use of additional primary coils in the utilized coil combination.

Step 906 includes applying the charging signal to a selected coilcombination of one or more primary coils to wirelessly transmit power toa receiver coil of the device to be charged. As described above, aprimary coil array that includes a plurality of selectable primary coilscan be used. These primary coils can be implemented with any combinationof wire-wound coils, PCB coils, or hybrid/wire-wound coils. Theseprimary coils are individually selectable such that a coil combinationof one or more primary coils in the array can be selected. When thecharging signal is applied to the selected coil combination a powertransfer signal is transmitted to a nearby receiver coil. Because thecoil combination can be selected to provide good coupling with areceiver coil (see step 804 of FIG. 8) such a transfer can be done withrelatively high efficiency.

Thus, the embodiments described herein provide a power transmitter forwireless charging of an electronic device. In general, the powertransmitter uses an inverter configured to generate a square-wave from apotentially wide ranging DC input voltage. The inverter is configured togenerate the square-wave with a duty cycle that results in a desiredequivalent voltage output, effectively independent of the DC inputvoltage that is provided. Thus, by generating a square-wave with aselectable duty cycle the inverter provides the ability to facilitatewireless power transfer with a wide range of DC input voltages, and thusprovides improved flexibility for wireless power transfer to electronicdevices. Furthermore, in some embodiments the power transmitter providesimproved power transfer efficiency using a matching network that isdynamically selectable to more effectively couple with the transmittercoil combination being used to transmit power to the electronic device.Furthermore, in some embodiments the fundamental frequency of the powertransfer signal is controllable to provide improved power transferefficiency. Furthermore, in some embodiments the dead time of thetransistors of the inverter is adjustable to reduce power consumptionand may result in improved power transfer efficiency.

The connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein areintended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physicalcouplings between the various elements. It should be noted that manyalternative or additional functional relationships or physicalconnections may be present in an embodiment of the subject matter. Inaddition, certain terminology may also be used herein for the purpose ofreference only, and thus are not intended to be limiting, and the terms“first”, “second” and other such numerical terms referring to structuresdo not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by thecontext.

As used herein, a “node” means any internal or external reference point,connection point, junction, signal line, conductive element, or thelike, at which a given signal, logic level, voltage, data pattern,current, or quantity is present. Furthermore, two or more nodes may berealized by one physical element (and two or more signals can bemultiplexed, modulated, or otherwise distinguished even though receivedor output at a common node).

The foregoing description refers to elements or nodes or features being“connected” or “coupled” together. As used herein, unless expresslystated otherwise, “connected” means that one element is directly joinedto (or directly communicates with) another element, and not necessarilymechanically. Likewise, unless expressly stated otherwise, “coupled”means that one element is directly or indirectly joined to (or directlyor indirectly communicates with, electrically or otherwise) anotherelement, and not necessarily mechanically. Thus, although the schematicsshown in the figures depict one exemplary arrangement of elements,additional intervening elements, devices, features, or components may bepresent in an embodiment of the depicted subject matter.

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in theforegoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vastnumber of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that theexemplary embodiment or embodiments described herein are not intended tolimit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claimed subjectmatter in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description willprovide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map forimplementing the described embodiment or embodiments. It should beunderstood that various changes can be made in the function andarrangement of elements without departing from the scope defined by theclaims, which includes known equivalents and foreseeable equivalents atthe time of filing this patent application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power transmitter for wirelessly charging anelectronic device, the power transmitter comprising: an input configuredto receive a variable DC input voltage; an inverter coupled to the inputto receive the variable DC input voltage, the inverter configured togenerate an AC square-wave signal having a duty cycle selected toprovide a predetermined equivalent voltage, wherein the inverter isconfigured to generate the AC square-wave signal with a relatively highduty cycle when a determined magnitude of the variable DC input voltageis relatively low, and the inverter is configured to generate the ACsquare-wave signal with a relatively low duty cycle when the determinedmagnitude of the variable DC input voltage is relatively high; aplurality of primary coils coupled to a matching network to receive acharging signal, the plurality of primary coils configured to beselectable in multiple different coil combinations, each of the multipledifferent coil combinations including a number of the plurality ofprimary coils, with at least one of the multiple different coilcombinations including more than one of the plurality of primary coilsto facilitate transmission with different numbers of primary coils, theplurality of primary coils configured to selectively transmit a powertransfer signal to a receiver coil on the electronic device; and thematching network coupled to the inverter and to the plurality of primarycoils, the matching network configured to generate the charging signalfrom the AC square-wave signal and to provide the charging signal to theplurality of primary coils, the matching network including adifferential input with first and second differential inputs configuredto receive the AC square wave signal, a differential output with firstand second differential outputs configured to produce the chargingsignal, and a plurality of switched capacitors that are selectivelyswitched to achieve maximum power transfer efficiency for a selectedcoil combination used to transmit the power transfer signal, wherein theplurality of switched capacitors are coupled in parallel across thefirst and second differential inputs, wherein a first number of theplurality of switched capacitors are switched into the matching circuitwhen a first number of primary coils are included in the selected coilcombination, and one or more additional switched capacitors are switchedinto the matching circuit when a second and larger number of primarycoils are included in the selected coil combination.
 2. The powertransmitter of claim 1, wherein the plurality of switched capacitors areselectively switched based on the number of the plurality of primarycoils in the selected coil combination.
 3. The power transmitter ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of switched capacitors are switched sothat the matching network resonates with the selected coil combinationat a resonant frequency that closely matches a fundamental frequency ofthe charging signal.
 4. The power transmitter of claim 1, furthercomprising: a voltage detector coupled to the input and configured todetermine the determined magnitude of the variable DC input voltage. 5.The power transmitter of claim 1, wherein the inverter comprises: afull-bridge inverter with first and second transistor pairs, wherein theinverter is configured to generate the AC square-wave signal using ashifted phase topology in which the switching of the first transistorpair is phase shifted with respect to the second transistor pair.
 6. Thepower transmitter of claim 1, wherein the inverter comprises: afull-bridge inverter with first and second transistor pairs, wherein theinverter is configured to generate the AC square-wave signal with deadtimes that assure quasi-resonant soft switching of the transistor pairs,wherein a dead time is a time interval between a first time at which onetransistor in a transistor pair is turned off and a second time at whicha complement transistor in the transistor pair is turned on.
 7. Thepower transmitter of claim 1, wherein the inverter is configured togenerate the AC square-wave signal at a plurality of differentfrequencies, and wherein the power transmitter is further configured todetermine which of the plurality of different frequencies or matchingnetwork configurations results in efficient power transfer to theelectronic device.
 8. The power transmitter of claim 7, wherein thepower transmitter is configured to determine which of the plurality ofdifferent frequencies or matching network configurations results inefficient power transfer to the electronic device based on feedbackreceived from the electronic device.
 9. The power transmitter of claim1, wherein the matching network further comprises: an inductor coupledbetween the first differential input and the first differential output.10. The power transmitter of claim 1, wherein the selected coilcombination is determined by selectively activing each of the pluralityof primary coils to determine a coil combination that most effectivelycouples with the receiver coil on the electronic device.
 11. The powertransmitter of claim 10, wherein the coil combination is determinedbased on a feedback signal received from the electronic device.
 12. Thepower transmitter of claim 1, further comprising a sensing circuitcoupled to the plurality of primary coils, and wherein the sensingcircuit is configured to sense a signal received on at least one of theplurality of primary coils to facilitate communication from theelectronic device and control a power transfer amount to the electronicdevice.
 13. The power transmitter of claim 1, further comprising amicrocontroller, the microcontroller configured to control operation ofthe inverter, the matching network and the plurality of primary coils.14. A power transmitter for wirelessly charging an electronic device,the power transmitter comprising: an input configured to receive avariable DC input voltage that can vary in a range from about 5 to about20 volts; an input voltage detector coupled to the input and configuredto determine a determined magnitude of the DC input voltage; afull-bridge inverter with first and second transistor pairs, wherein theinverter is configured to generate an AC square-wave signal from thevariable DC input voltage; a plurality of selectable primary coilsconfigured to receive a charging signal and to selectively transmit apower transfer signal to a receiver coil of the electronic device; and amatching network coupled to the inverter and to the plurality ofselectable primary coils, the matching network configured to generatethe charging signal from the AC square-wave signal and to provide thecharging signal to the plurality of selectable primary coils, thematching network including a plurality of switched capacitors coupled inparallel across first and second differential inputs; and amicrocontroller coupled to the input voltage detector, the inverter, thematching network, and the plurality of selectable primary coils, and thematching network, the microcontroller configured to: control theinverter to generate the AC square-wave signal having a duty cycleselected to provide a predetermined equivalent voltage, wherein theinverter is configured to generate the AC square-wave signal with arelatively high duty cycle when a determined magnitude of the variableDC input voltage is relatively low, and the inverter is configured togenerate the AC square-wave signal with a relatively low duty cycle whenthe determined magnitude of the variable DC input voltage is relativelyhigh, control the plurality of selectable primary coils to selectivelyactivate a selected coil combination that most effectively couples withthe receiver coil of the electronic device, where the selected coilcombination can include one or more of the plurality of selectableprimary coils to facilitate transmission with different numbers of theselectable primary coils, and selectively couple the plurality ofswitched capacitors in the matching network to achieve maximum powertransfer efficiency for the selected coil combination used to transmitthe power transfer signal, wherein a first number of the plurality ofswitched capacitors are coupled into the matching circuit when a firstnumber of primary coils are included in the selected coil combination,and one or more additional switched capacitors are coupled into thematching circuit when a second and larger number of primary coils areincluded in the selected coil combination.
 15. A method of wirelesslycharging an electronic device, the method comprising: receiving, throughan input, a variable DC input voltage; generating, by an invertercoupled to the input, an AC square-wave signal from the variable DCinput voltage, wherein the AC square-wave signal is generated to have aduty cycle that provides a predetermined equivalent voltage, wherein theAC square-wave signal is generated with a relatively high duty cyclewhen a determined magnitude of the variable DC input voltage isrelatively low, and the AC square-wave signal is generated with arelatively low duty cycle when the determined magnitude of the variableDC input voltage is relatively high; selectively switching a pluralityof switched capacitors in a matching network to achieve maximum powertransfer efficiency to a receiver coil in the electronic device, whereinthe matching network is coupled between the inverter and a plurality ofprimary coils, wherein the plurality of switched capacitors is coupledin parallel across first and second differential inputs; generating acharging signal from the AC square-wave signal by the matching network;selecting, from the plurality of primary coils, a coil combination frommultiple different coil combinations to determine the selected coilcombination, each of the multiple different coil combinations includinga number of the plurality of primary coils with at least one of themultiple different coil combinations including more than one of theplurality of primary coils to facilitate transmission with differentnumbers of primary coils; and driving the selected coil combinationusing the charging signal to transmit a power transfer signal to thereceiver coil of the electronic device.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the plurality of switched capacitors are selectively switchedbased on the number of the plurality of primary coils in the selectedcoil combination.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality ofswitched capacitors are switched so that the matching network resonateswith the selected coil combination at a resonant frequency that closelymatches a fundamental frequency of the charging signal.
 18. The methodof claim 15, wherein the inverter is a full-bridge inverter with firstand second transistor pairs, and wherein the inverter is configured togenerate the AC square-wave signal using a shifted phase topology inwhich the switching of the first transistor pair is phase shifted withrespect to the second transistor pair.
 19. The method of claim 15,wherein the inverter is a full-bridge inverter with first and secondtransistor pairs, and wherein the inverter is configured to generate theAC square-wave signal with dead times that assure quasi-resonant softswitching of the transistor pairs, wherein a dead time is a timeinterval between a first time at which one transistor in a transistorpair is turned off and a second time at which a complement transistor inthe transistor pair is turned on.
 20. The method of claim 15, whereinselectively switching the plurality of switched capacitors comprises:switching a first number of the plurality of switched capacitors intothe matching circuit when a first number of primary coils are includedin the selected coil combination; and switching one or more additionalswitched capacitors into the matching circuit when a second and largernumber of primary coils are included in the selected coil combination.